The Truth Takes Time
by ComingAndGoingByBubble
Summary: After a tragic event, a workaholic Elphaba finds herself spending less time at work,reconnecting with the people she had lost touch with after school, falling in love, and realizing that life is too short to let anything get in the way of her happiness. Very AU.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One:

Elphaba had by now gotten accustomed to the long flights that were required for her job but the one thing she had not gotten used to was the back pain she suffered afterwards. She had become a frequent flyer ever since she had taken this job at the Dauphine Bank right after college. So as an expert flyer she knew that the airport was no place to rest but at least there Elphaba hoped she could find some Aspirin or Motrin to dull the pain at least until she got to settle down at her hotel.

Dragging her luggage behind her body, Elphaba expertly maneuvered her way through the crowds of people, knowing just when to dive through a crowd and where to look for pockets of empty space. She was anxious and ready to get this trip over and done with. All she wanted was to go back home to her cat Malky and live her ordinary life of being a business woman by day and that lady who never leaves her apartment by night. But if she wanted to keep her nice business suits and pay for that expensive skin medicine that controlled her skin condition, work came before comfort. It wasn't that Elphaba didn't like her job working at the bank, negotiating with customers, filing deposits and filling and emptying accounts and such. It was that lately work had become her life. She went on all sorts of business trips, got called at ridiculous hours, and worked crazy amounts of shifts, the works. Elphaba didn't have a social life, not that she used to though. But it would be nice to have the opportunity to have a social life. Lately she hadn't even had time to call her sister and check up on her nevertheless hang out with her old school friends. It was tedious but in the end Elphaba knew it would be worth it.

Finally on her traveling she found a store, bought some Motrin, and then stopped in a restroom. She wanted to be sure, as she swallowed the pill down with a swig of her Coke a Cola, that she looked somewhat presentable before she went in for this business meeting. And it wasn't like she had time to get ready at the hotel. Her boss had given her strict instructions to get off the plane, drop the luggage off at the hotel, go to the meeting and then she could unpack afterwards. There was neither time nor room for error.

Quickly she checked her old leather wristwatch that she still had from her college days. It was noon exactly. She had about an hour or so to get to the meeting.

Sighing, Elphaba gave herself a once over in the mirror of the restroom and splashed some cold water on her face. Her hair, which was pulled back into a sleek high ponytail, was as good as it was ever gonna get. It shone like a black lagoon in the moonlight. Her eyebrows were plucked and shaped nicely forming little crescent shaped moons over her brown eyes, which were highlighted by the mascara that she wore, her lips were colored a pale rose, and her ears had simple diamond studs in them. This Elphaba Thropp was a vast improvement from college Elphaba Thropp who had liked to wear grunge and her hair down.

Her skin though was still a problem even though she used that skin cream obsessively. Her complexion, which was supposed to be a milky white, was tainted due to a birth defect. Her skin had a hue of green to it, and it was noticeable. She always looked sickly, as if she was about to throw up all the time. It wasn't just her face that was green, it was her entire body. Something had happened to her during her mother's pregnancy that no one could figure out.

Elphaba had gotten used to it over the years, sometimes she didn't even remember that her skin was that color until someone would point it out to her again. It was her curse, and it was one that she was trying so hard to get rid of, for along with the greenish skin came the water allergy. Yes, that's right. Elphaba was allergic to water, only if it came into contact with her skin. She could drink it, but tears and jumping into pools were not recommended. Elphaba had never experienced a full-blown water allergic attack and she didn't plan on it. The skin cream had been her best investment of her entire life. It dulled the green color and protected her from her unusual water allergy.

Finding herself looking presentable in her tailored blue suit with her matching high heeled shoes, Elphaba then exited the restroom and headed out towards the limos were a company car was waiting for her. The bright California sun was one Elphaba had seen many times over the course of her various excursions for work. But New York was the place Elphaba called home. Though she had come to the city a complete stranger, Elphaba had found her place among the skyscrapers and the business world. She liked having four distinct seasons and she liked how the city looked at night. She could never deal with the number of faked tans and blonde bimbos she saw in California on a daily basis.

While walking through the airport, there was a colossal traffic jam at the escalator, something that happened quite often in a busy airport like this one. Elphaba found herself to be standing still for quite a while so her eyes began to wander, trying to pass the time. Her fingers tapped impatiently on the handle of her suitcase and her eyes traveled from face to face, from TV screen to TV screen until something that was being displayed on the screen caught her eye. It was obviously a news show, with a reporter on the side talking about the current news. But it was not the reporter that caught her eye though; it was the headline that was being broadcasted in capital letters on the screen.

It read:

FAMOUS FASHION DESIGNER, GLINDA UPLAND NEE TIGGULAR, MURDERED IN STUDIO!

Elphaba's breath hitched as the news reporter was replaced on the screen by a photo of the woman. As soon as she saw the picture, Elphaba knew. She knew this woman, this Glinda. She had been her roommate in college, among other things. Glinda had been instrumental in shaping the woman Elphaba was today. Without her, Elphaba still would have been the reclusive, shy girl she had been when she had begun college. Glinda had been one of her only friends at college, and Elphaba had stayed in touch with the blonde after graduation. Elphaba had even attended Glinda's wedding to Fiyero Tiggular. They had been the best of friends, even more than friends some would say.

Seeing the blonde's youthful face on the TV, her glittering blue eyes, her full red lips, that infamous mass of golden curls that framed her pretty, heart shaped face, it all brought back bittersweet memories to Elphaba. Her throat felt dry and she didn't even realize that she had begun to cry until it was too late and tears were streaming down her face. Thank God that she had put on the medicine once she got off the plane otherwise, her skin would have burned like crazy. She tried to wipe away the silly tears, to tell herself to snap out of it but she couldn't. She felt an undeniable wave of guilt and remorse fill her as she just stood there, eyes locked on the TV screen. It was a horrible, senseless tragedy. Why did, out of all people, Glinda have to die? She was a sweet woman with the best intentions and the biggest heart. Elphaba felt anger rise up in her like a flame. How dare someone kill Glinda? How dare they take away her life when she had so much going for her, so much happiness, so much to live for? Elphaba hoped with all her might that whoever it was got what was coming for them.

Taking one last look at the TV screen, Elphaba summoned up all of her strength in one deep breath and moved towards the escalators. She was being strong, at least for now, now while she had work to do. There would be time to mourn, question, and grieve Glinda's death later but right now she had a business meeting to catch.

**A.N:**

**Yay new story! I've had this idea for a while now and I'm really excited to see how it turns out. Let me know what you think!**

**Bubble**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two:

The meeting was taking forever to end. It was as if time had slowed down to a halt for just this time slot between one to four, just to further torment Elphaba. She couldn't tell if the sudden news of Glinda's death was altering her perspective of time passing or if it was the fact that this meeting was boring and dull and she wasn't really paying attention anyways. Either way Elphaba felt detached from the world. Tapping her pen against her stack of papers, she kept a hand propped under her chin and blinked her eyes, trying to stay awake. Her behavior today was seriously abnormal. She was usually the one to initiate questions from the clients, make sure protocol was being followed, the one to voice her opinion loudly in front of everyone. But today, not a peep was heard out of her. She had just sat down in the chair and stayed silent and her co-workers were beginning to take notice that something might be wrong or upsetting her. Her mind was occupied on Glinda, on her dead friend, on how she might have died not on work. It was starting to consume her, like a plague on her heart. This was going to haunt her for the rest of her life.

The power point presentation up front mixing with the droning voices of their clients were putting her to sleep and causing her to daydream of what could have happened to Glinda. Lost in her daydreams, she hadn't even taken down a single note. Luckily, Elphaba was not alone here at this meeting; she had another bank employee with her. Boq was sitting right next to her, taking dutiful notes after every slide like the rookie he was. Boq Tippin was a good worker, one from the bank's California base corporation. Elphaba had worked with him before and she liked him well enough. He was a good kid, obviously fresh out of college but he worked very, very hard. He had all the obvious signs of being a rookie though, showing up early and dressing nice to meetings, copying every single thing anyone ever said down into his notebook, willingly volunteering to do everything and anything to please everyone, and he just had that look about him. He was a fresh face in the crowd, one that was topped with cropped blonde hair and bright blue eyes. His dressing was impeccable; Elphaba at least could give him that. And even though she only saw him once a year, Elphaba considered Boq to be a friend, and it was obvious that he thought of Elphaba as a friend too.

When the meeting finally came to a close, Boq leaned over to her and whispered in her ear, "You alright?" He looked genuinely concerned for her as everyone else began to pack up and leave.

Elphaba blinked, she hadn't realized that she had momentarily dozed off. She struggled to appear normal, gathering her paper and folders up quickly in her arms.

"Fine, just fine," she lied as she hurried her legs and tried to just get out of the building unscathed and not bothered with questions about why she was acting so weird today.

"Is it Nessa?" Boq called after her and the dark-haired woman stopped in her tracks.

"No, it's not Nessa. She's fine," dismissed Elphaba and she quickly got back to her walking. Boq knew the tight bond Elphaba had with her younger sister and he knew that she would be acting off if anything ever happened to her but that was not the case this time.

"Then what is it?" pressed Boq as he finally caught up with her on the stairwell. Elphaba let out a long sigh as she stopped on the stairs, finally relenting to tell him the truth.

"It's just… it's just," she struggled to form the words to tell him what she saw at the airport.

"A very good friend of mine passed away today and I found out at the airport while I was waiting in line for the escalators. It was all over the news."

Elphaba could feel her voice breaking with emotion as she finished off her sentence and avoided Boq's eye contact in fear that she would start crying all over again. She felt as if she was going to cry, her throat was lumpy, her eyes were beginning to water…

"Elphie, you're shaking," pointed out Boq who was obviously astonished at how pained Elphaba was about all this and how much she was holding back, "Come on, I'll drive you back to your hotel."

Elphaba didn't even hesitate for a second; she just nodded and bolted to the front door with Boq trailing behind her, struggling to keep up with her fast-paced gait.

"I'm really sorry," was the first thing he said to her in the car. Elphaba just sat there in the passenger seat, looking rigidly out the window like a hawk as they flew by car after car. Boq could feel the tension, anger, and grief radiating off of her from just a few mere inches away.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" he offered as he put on the car's blinker as they got onto the highway. No, thought Elphaba, because if I do I feel as though I will never stop crying. But her mouth wasn't listening to her head and went ahead and began to talk anyways.

"I just don't understand why someone would kill her," whispered Elphaba in obvious mourning.

"You mean your friend was murdered?" exclaimed Boq in shock as he slammed on the breaks to avoid getting into a crash on the freeway, "Who was this friend anyways? Did she have Mafia ties or something?"

He was trying to make a joke but Elphaba was not in the mood.

"Her name was Glinda Upland," started the dark-haired woman as she loosened her posture, "but her married name was Glinda Tiggular."

Boq nearly ran the car off the road after hearing that.

"You were friends with Glinda Tiggular, the most ruthless yet most creative fashion designer in all of America and you didn't think about mentioning that at all to me?"

She shrugged, a bit amused though at his reaction, "I didn't think you knew who she was."

Boq's mouth was open wide, "Of course I do! I got all of my suits from her store! I adored her!"

"Yeah, well she's dead now," quipped Elphaba in a voice a bit too harsh for even her liking. She cringed as she saw Boq's face plummet; "I'm sorry Boq I didn't mean it like that… I'm just… I'm just having trouble processing this."

She hung her head low, her ponytail sticking up in the air as she did so.

"No, of course, I shouldn't have been so insensitive. I'm sorry she's dead," Boq was quick to apologize and come to her aid. He pulled over on the side of the road, and parked the car.

"Did it say how she died?" he asked, looking at her hair since Elphaba refused to lift her head from its hiding place in her arms.

"No, it just said that she was murdered at her studio," mumbled Elphaba nearly on the verge of collapsing into tears. She didn't want to talk about Glinda anymore. It hurt too much. It brought up memories that she could never replace, ones that only the blonde could have made with her. The thought of her being dead was affecting Elphaba more than she thought it would have. She didn't think she had grown this attached to Glinda, especially in recent years when they had only texted each other and emailed once a month if that.

She barely felt it when Boq put his arms around her but she was thankful for the comfort even though she was not one for physical contact type of comfort and healthy. Elphaba preferred to brave it alone but this time was an exception to say the least.

When she had finished crying she looked up at Boq and wiped her eyes tenderly, silently thanking him for being there for her.

"It's 6 o' clock and I still haven't been back to the hotel to unpack," she remarked glumly as she switched the subject on him as her eyes glanced at the clock that was illuminated on his dashboard.

"When do you leave?" asked Boq putting his seatbelt back on and signaling to get back on the road.

"In a week, my boss wants me to stay until our clients have made a decision and have all their questions answered and I'm the only one knows everything there is to know about our company so you're stuck with me for seven full days," she was teasing but it futile and weak. Boq laughed anyways, just to cheer her up.

"Well, then tonight I say we go out on the town, go get a couple of drinks…"

Elphaba raised her eyebrows at Boq's suggestion. She watched with grim regret for her words as he turned the car around and sped in the other direction, obviously heading to a club or bar.

"Boq, I don't drink," Elphaba started to say but Boq cut her off.

"Tonight you do. You owe it to yourself… you owe it to Glinda. Have a few drinks and relax a bit. Besides… who knows maybe we'll find dates for each other."

"Oh, I see… you just want to go out and find yourself a hot date," Elphaba couldn't help the smile that was forming on her face.

"We can share him," was Boq's last retort as he sped off down the road to God's knows where in search of a decent bar to take Elphaba to.

**AN: On a roll here. **

**And yes I do realize that I wrote Boq as a gay character but that will come into effect later, don't you worry. :)**

**Will write the next chapter tonight and tomorrow. Should be posting by this weekend! :)**

**Bubble**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three:

"Elphie, we've been here an hour and you haven't had a single drink," Boq chastised her as he finished off his third beer, his voice beginning to slur a little. "Just have one!"

Elphaba looked up from her fingernails, which she had been attending to.

"This is peer pressure, my mother warned me this would happen one day," she turned to Boq and with a straight face uttered, "No."

He knew she was joking and Boq pressed on that matter like her last comment hadn't even happened.

"Come on, Elphaba. Do it for Glinda."

That was crossing a line that had yet been drawn… though it felt like there was a line there about the topic of Glinda, just that no one had figured out who had drawn it and where it ended and started.

"Fine, fine for God's sake I will have a damn drink," Elphaba finally relented, "I hope you're happy now because you're going to have to be the one to get my drunk self back into your car and drop me off at my hotel."

Boq just smirked and shook his head at her, "Fine by me!" he said cheerily raising his glass to toast her and Glinda.

* * *

Four drinks later and Elphaba and Boq were sitting at the bar together like two giddy schoolgirls, fawning over any and every boy they saw in the place, rating and identifying them as they went along.

"What about that one?" said Boq pointing a finger at the guy in the corner with a leather jacket and shady sunglasses.

"Drug dealer," answered Elphaba, "or a real dork who wears sunglasses inside."

Boq burst into peals of laughter at that, nearly falling into Elphaba's lap and off his stool.

Elphaba smiled at her joke and then let her eyes surveyed the ever so hazy crowd for another victim of their silliness.

"How about the guy in the white shirt?" asked Elphaba. The man was sitting at the opposite end of the bar, and every once in a while glanced up at them.

"He's looking at me," whispered Boq confidently as he ran a hand through his hair and buffered his suit.

Elphaba snorted, "If you say so."

In retort, she got a hard shove in the arm.

"Do you think I should go talk to him?" asked Boq nervously as he sipped on his drink.

"Go for it," said Elphaba encouragingly with a smile.

Boq nodded and then caught the waitress and asked her for another drink. While they were waiting for Boq's courage to emerge at the right moment, their eyes wandered the rest of the bar.

It was then that Elphaba spotted him first, a tall muscular build with sandy colored hair and dark eyes. He was unmistakable, still looked the same as he did however many years ago it had been since they last saw each other.

It was Fiyero; Elphaba knew that at the first glance. He was slouched over the counter a few feet away from them, one hand holding a beer, the other his head. He looked pitiful, hopelessly drowning his own grief.

She felt her own heart break as she looked at him, his eyes sunken and dull, and his face pale, and the energy around him was lonesome and heartbreaking.

Boq followed her gaze and whistled.

"I think we found a ten, and he looks like he could use some cheering up…" he looked at her for approval and then saw her face.

"You know him."

It wasn't a question.

She nodded numbly.

"That's Fiyero," she said solemnly. Boq seemed to understand and immediately he backed off the flirtatious hits he had planned in his mind to use on the man.

"Go talk to him," pushed Boq. He could see that she wanted to. He saw the pain and regret in her eyes that needed to be released, "Go," he said forcefully, "or I will drag you to him."

Elphaba smiled wanly. Her mind was already made up though, "That won't be necessary." She got up slowly from the table and walked over to him. Sitting herself down in the seat next to him, Elphaba put a lock of hair behind her ear. Inside her stomach felt like butterflies, but on the outside Elphaba was calm… or at least she looked calm.

"Fiyero?" Her voice came out hesitant.

Those eyes, those tortured eyes that had been through hell and back in the last twelve or so hours, looked at her.

His face immediately softened when he saw her. He looked as though he was thousands of years old, lines creased his face, and his skin was sallow and grief-stricken.

"Elphaba?"

His eyes sparkled just a little as he took her in, surveying her, "Is that really you?"

She nodded, smiling slightly. Again with the hair tucking behind her ear.

"Are you alright?" she asked softly. She said it in a low voice with the undertone that gave away she knew more than she was letting on.

Fiyero's mouth quivered, "So you've heard."

Elphaba couldn't help but nod and reach out her hand to touch his in solace, in comfort. He pulled away though, obviously not wanting physical comfort yet.

"I'm sorry," she said for both Glinda and her own actions. She retracted her hand back to her lap.

"I just don't know how I'm going to go on without her," he moaned into his hands. Elphaba felt a pang of sadness in her heart for him. She knew that feeling all too well.

"You'll be all right… it's going to take time but you'll be okay," those were the only words she could come up with at the moment.

"You don't know how many people have told me that today," he mused bitterly. He looked up at her, obviously mad at himself for being so snippy.

"I'm sorry," apologized Fiyero.

"It's okay," she said softly.

He looked at her with those dark penetrating eyes and Elphaba found herself entranced by him once more. She had always thought Fiyero to be handsome, even when they had been friends in college but she had always known that Fiyero belonged to Glinda. He was off limits in the rules of friendship and Elphaba was not about to dishonor her friendship with Glinda even though the blonde was dead… at least not now.

In an attempt to change the subject Elphaba thought to find another thing to talk about.

"What's with the diamond earring?" she asked noticing the tiny sparkle of sapphire in his ear. She hadn't pegged Fiyero to be the jewelry type but she guessed that maybe she had judged him too quickly.

Fiyero rubbed his index finger over the piercing softly. He spoke the next words with obvious difficulty, "It's for her. She always loved diamonds and well, the color… it's the…was…the color of her eyes…"

Elphaba's heart sank and her eyes lowered to the floor.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize," her words faded away until they were just part of the background hum of the bar.

He shrugged, "You didn't know."

They looked at each other awkwardly. There was so much that needed to be said between them and yet there was so much that they were holding back. They were dancing around the real questions they wanted to ask. The air was tense and still between them. Unspoken words filled the air, swirling around them tauntingly until apparently it grew to be too much for Fiyero.

"I have to go," he said suddenly, nearly sending his chair tumbling to the floor in haste, "I have to get some sleep… I have a funeral to plan…" he trailed off, his shoulders set in grief.

But Elphaba was not about to lose him that quickly, there was so much more they needed to talk about, so many words unsaid.

"Fiyero wait!" she cried and she reached out and grabbed his arm.

Stunned he did not pull away.

"Please, just…" Elphaba's voice was strained because she didn't know exactly why she wanted him to stay, all she knew what that she wanted him near her, "…just one more drink… for Glinda's sake."

That was all it took for him to sit back down.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four:

Neither of them had expected to get as drunk as they did, nevertheless completely wasted by the time they left the bar but it happened whether Fiyero and Elphaba liked it or not. Somehow or another they ended up getting kicked out of the bar (where Boq had gone to, Elphaba had no idea), hailed a cab, and Elphaba stayed the night at Fiyero's place. But there had been no sex involved or at least none that Elphaba could remember. If there had been sex involved, she'd feel guilty about it for the rest of her life. Sex with her best friend's husband on the eve of said best friend's death was just not done. It was just wrong, so very wrong.

As she woke up, Elphaba hoped that she would find no signs or traces of evidence that Fiyero and herself had had sex. She rolled over and saw that Fiyero was sleeping next to her, his clothes still on, and that gave her relief. Thank God. So her recollection of last night was true. She had merely provided Fiyero with verbal, and only verbal, comfort. She had been a shoulder of him to lean on not someone he could do and be done with the next day. She recalled that Fiyero had shown her around the massive house he and Glinda owned. He had talked about her a lot, said how dedicated she had been about this new project that she had been working on, how happy she had been, how alive she had been. Around four, Elphaba almost went home, complaining that she had work and unpacking to do, but Fiyero begged her to stay. He didn't want to be home alone and she understood that so she obliged and stayed with him.

It was strange though, that the Fiyero and Glinda she had pictured in her mind were different from the real people that she was talking with. These people, the Fiyero and Glinda that lived in California, blew her expectations of them out of the water. In school she hadn't thought much of the perky, girly girl that was Glinda until they had become friends. But even then, even with how close they became, there were still secrets between them, hidden talents that had not showed themselves yet. Not only had Glinda ran her fashion line but she also had owned the four million dollar enterprise. The blonde had done exceptionally well for herself in the fashion business despite the odds that had been stacked up against her when she had first thought of becoming a fashion designer back in college. Elphaba couldn't have been prouder of her achievements.

While Fiyero had been recalling fond memories and stories of Glinda like the time the blonde burned Thanksgiving dinner and they ended up having ice cream and junk food, the time she had dressed up as Cinderella on their annual trip to Disneyland, the day she decided to have a fashion show at home with things from her closet, and the time she got lost in Times Square and had a panic attack, Elphaba couldn't help but feel even guiltier about not coming up more to see the blonde. When she had expressed this to Fiyero, he merely shrugged and gave her a half-hearted smile.

"She knew you still cared about her but she understood how busy you were, how busy we all were," Fiyero had said to her late last night.

"That doesn't help at all," she had told him sadly, "I still feel guilty."

He had looked at her, his face so haunted and pained with grief that Elphaba had felt like she had seen his soul break.

"So do I…"

Now, in the morning light, Elphaba saw just how guilty Fiyero felt. The lines that traced his face were so deep; they looked like scars, scars of his pain. Physically he looked exhausted but his body was still toned, still defined beneath the fabric of his clothes. Glinda's death had taken a sharp toll on Fiyero's life. It had been less than a day since the blonde's departure from this world and Fiyero was already unraveling. He was coming apart at the seams right in front of her eyes. She knew that look, she knew that haunted quality that came along with losing a loved one.

Looking at the digital clock on the table besides her, Elphaba nearly bolted out of bed. It was almost eleven o'clock in the morning.

"Fiyero, wake up, Fiyero!" she hissed at his sleeping form trying to get him to move.

Groggily but still obviously high off of drinking so much, he looked up and smiled at her with a wink.

"Last night was great," he remarked slyly and he gave her another quick wink, "You were fantastic by the way."

The dark haired woman's mouth dropped open. She felt like she had just been exposed to freezing cold air in the nude. She fought the urge to slap him, she was feeling utterly mortified. No, it couldn't be true. He couldn't be suggesting that they had-

"Relax, Elphie," he said as he rolled over, the stupid grin on his face still present, "It was just a joke."

"Did you really think that was funny, Tiggular? Your wife's dead and you have the gall and nerve to pretend like you've just had sex with me?" she berated him.

His face dropped, "I'm sorry- I didn't mean to- I just-" he struggled to get the words out, "It was funnier than it sounded in my head and I'm sorry but I compensate with humor Elphaba instead of just holding it all in like you do!"

The conversation had escalated quickly as a conversation does when it is in the hands of two grieving people with different esthetics.

Elphaba stared at him for a long time. She could get mad at him, she could start yelling but she knew no good would come of it. Glinda wouldn't have wanted them to fight like this, not now.

"Your humor could at least be a bit funnier next time," she got out with a smirk, "I was not amused with that joke."

Fiyero seemed to relax then, glad that that water was under the bridge, and he stretched as he lazily got out of bed.

"I'll drive you back to your hotel," he offered without her even having to ask.

He went quiet for a moment as if he was self-reflecting his life and actions. He turned to her.

"Thank you for staying with me last night, it meant a lot to me that I wasn't here alone, even if you know we didn't have sex" he told her as he went to go get dressed.

"Your welcome, Fiyero," said Elphaba with a smile. She wanted to tell him that he was going to get through this; that he was going to be okay but it went without saying.

He glanced back at Elphaba before disappearing into the bathroom, "She really would have loved to see you…"

Elphaba nodded with tight lips, it was all she could manage, and she turned away.

To keep herself busy while Fiyero showered Elphaba meandered her way over to the giant vanity Glinda kept, the table adorned with all sorts of bottles, makeup scattered everywhere, hairbrushes, straightners, curling irons, the works.

Catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror Elphaba slowly undid what was left of her ponytail and combed her hair with her fingers. The soft hair felt slipper to her fingertips and she knew she was due for a shower. The rest of her body, minus her wrinkled suit, looked in shape. Her shoes had been discarded near the floor of the bed, her purse on the floor next to her shoes. Her underwear and bra were still in place and not lost.

With everything just so, why did she still feel like there was something missing? Had she wanted to have sex with Fiyero last night? Had she tried to kiss him? Elphaba didn't remember. She didn't want to remember. Secretly she had always been somewhat attracted to Fiyero. He had been good-looking when he and Glinda had met during college but he had been a slacker in school. He had straightened up once they left school together; Glinda had helped him. Though the blonde had not been a straight A student herself she at least attempted (apparently she had never really cared about school till college) to educate herself.

When she had first met Fiyero, when he had been dating Glinda in college, she had hated him. She even tried to meddle with them dating, she hated him so much. Once he got out of college though was when Elphaba really noticed a difference. She had this preconceived notion that he was going to be a slacker for the rest of his life and that he would never be good enough for Glinda but then he changed. Elphaba saw how well he took care of Glinda, how well he provided for her, how much he loved her and truth be told but Elphaba became jealous. Of course not jealous enough to try and stop the wedding between them but just jealous enough that she got a pang of hurt and heartache whenever the two were cozy or said cute things to one another.

She thought she had gotten over that, she thought it had been just some stupid phase caused by her friendship but Elphaba realized as she looked around at all of the old photos of himself and Glinda that her attraction had not quite died down.

"That one was in San Francisco," Fiyero's entrance caught her off guard and Elphaba spun around in shock.

"It's a lovely picture," she said once she regained her breath and her eyes settled on the shiny photograph of Glinda and Fiyero cuddling close to each other on a park bench. The ever-glamorous blonde was dressed in a bright pink and white stripped dress, white sunglasses hiding her brilliant blue eyes. That hair shone in huge waves around her head and down her shoulders. Fiyero looked as handsome as ever, blue diamond earring and all, dressed in a nice beige jacket with jeans, his hair cropped a bit messily.

"That was after our honeymoon," he said solemnly, though a brief yet fleeting smile made its way onto his face at the memory.

Elphaba looked down and away from the picture. Honeymoon was just a fancy term for getting to have sex all the time in a secluded, usually exotic place and spending intimate time with your newly wedding spouse.

When she looked back up Elphaba realized that Fiyero still had just a towel wrapped around his bare torso. Once she realized this it got harder and harder for her not to keep looking though she would have rather not.

While he was rummaging through some drawers across the room she couldn't help but see the numerous tattoos Fiyero had acquired over the years. She could only see the faint ink marks and lines, nothing was defined clearly for her eyesight was going after being on the computer for hours upon end. Still, the fact he had tattoos made her smile. It was something they both had in common.

When he turned around she reached for her purse and slid into her shoes, giving him a brief smile.

"I'll go wait in the car," she said a bit embarrassed. He nodded; passed her the keys and she quickly fled the bedroom. As she passed by the other rooms of the house she could clearly see who picked out what. Touches of Glinda's keen, artistic styling were prominent with a picture frame here, a crazy structure bookshelf there, romantic comedy DVDs lined up on the wall on the shelf, books with pretty bindings and titles mixed in with Fiyero's collection. Touches of Fiyero were harder to spot though, a grill here, a table there, sports magazines in a folder on the coffee table, a jar of peanuts shoved in a corner.

The dynamics of the house were balanced though, but even still Elphaba felt like she was missing out on being single. Someone once described marriage as a sleepover that never ends with your best friend. Elphaba could see that that was evident here in Glinda and Fiyero's home. It would be nice to have that with someone other than her cat.

She finally made it to the car after going the wrong way a few times. She felt the hollowness of the empty space in the garage where Glinda's car would have been fill her heart. She willed herself not to cry, not here. She would sob at the hotel but not here not at Glinda's.

Fiyero came to the car within a few minutes, Elphaba only had to wait a little amount of time in the car before they made their way to the hotel.

Within thirty minutes Fiyero was pulling up to the hotel entrance. As he unlocked the door and she prepared to leave Fiyero caught her arm.

Brown eyes met his and the bolt of electricity that passed through them both was enough to make them shudder.

"Come by and see me again before you leave, and I don't just mean the funeral." He looked so sad, so upset and tormented. She felt bad for taking advantage of him like this but she was torn. She wanted to spend time with Fiyero to help him move on with his life in a positive friend like way but the other half of her wanted him all to herself. There were still so many questions she had to ask him about Glinda, about her murder, about himself. And she only had a week to do it all.

"How about tomorrow?" she asked.

**I will be pretty busy this holiday break so don't despair if I don't get around to updating. I make no promises.**

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	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five:

Her stomach was still flittering with butterflies when she entered her hotel room that morning. She spent most of the morning smiling to herself, excited and even happy at the prospect of spending more time with Fiyero even though she knew it was wrong. But if Glinda were alive, she would understand though, right? Glinda had always told her to go for anything… but for some reason Elphaba had a feeling Glinda would not approve of this from either Fiyero nor herself.

When Elphaba got around to turning her phone on again that day, she realized that she had missed six calls from Boq, four of which were drunk calls telling her how much fun he had last night with the boy toy he hooked up with. The other two though were asking her where the hell she was and why she wasn't picking up her phone.

Dialing the number and pressing the phone against her ear Elphaba waited for Boq to pick up to tell him that she was all right.

"Hello?" said Boq in a voice that was still sleepy and hung over.

"Boq, it's me Elphaba. I just wanted to let you know that I'm all set. I got home this morning."

"Glad to hear it," said Boq, "Where the hell did you end up last night anyways?" He truly couldn't remember, the details of last night muddled with the amount of alcohol he had.

"Ummmm…." Elphaba couldn't make a lie up fast enough and she found her cover blown.

There was a pause and shuffling on the other end for a moment.

"You spent the night with Fiyero didn't you?" Boq's voice was coy and excited.

Elphaba repressed the urge to roll her eyes at his tone. Really Boq could be such a nosy person sometimes. Pacing around her hotel room, Elphaba sat down on the bed and ran a hand through her hair.

"What? No, well… not like that…" Groaning as the words came out of her mouth she knew she was in for a frenzy of questions.

"Holy hell, Elphaba I was kidding. I didn't really think that you spent the night at Fiyero's, like at all. What happened?"

Letting out a puff of air, Elphaba put her free hand up in the air, "I really don't know. We both got drunk, I felt bad for him, he didn't want to be alone… and I just ended up sleeping over his house and talking with him."

"So no sex?" Boq sounded like he wanted to make sure of this.

"No sex," said Elphaba resolutely. She left out the part that she might still have feelings for Fiyero for good measure; she didn't want to rock the boat just yet. The fact that she had slept over Fiyero's house in the first place was a big enough bombshell in itself.

"So what's going to happen next with you two?

"I have no idea," Elphaba chewed on her fingertips nervously as her thoughts were filled with everything about Fiyero. It was so wrong of her to feel this way about him, especially since Glinda was dead but she couldn't control her feelings.

"Are you going to see him again?"

Even though Boq couldn't see her face, Elphaba blanched and felt herself heat up at that question. As she struggled with herself to answer that, she thankfully got another call buzzing in, interpreting her discussion with Boq. It was her sister, Nessarose.

"Boq, I have to go now," said Elphaba quickly, "my sister's calling. We'll talk later," she half lied as she switched over signals.

"Hi Nessa, is everything all right?" was the first question out of her mouth to her sister.

"Oh, Elphaba thank goodness I caught you. I have terrible news… have you heard about Glinda?" Her sister's sweet voice couldn't even sugarcoat the news of Glinda's death. The air deflated from Elphaba's chest and she bit her lip.

"Yes, I've heard."

"It's just dreadful, I can't even imagine it! Have you contacted Fiyero yet? I was thinking of calling but I don't think he wants to talk to anyone right now. I prayed for him this morning when I heard the news on the TV," Nessa did seem upset, she had too thought of Glinda as a friend… but not as close as she had been a friend to Elphaba.

"Yes I have contacted Fiyero, he's been better," Elphaba tried to put any emotion out of her voice, "I'm sure he would appreciate your prayers, Nessie."

"Are you going to the funeral? I don't think I'll be able to make it with the snowstorm heading our way. Give him my regards if you do."

"I will and I plan on going," answered Elphaba as she switched hands and got up from her bed and traveled to the balcony, sliding the glass door open and feeling the sun on her face, hoping that it would make her feel better even with all this talk of Glinda's death.

"Besides all of this, how's your business trip going?" asked Nessa after the two sisters had reminisced about the blonde.

"Hectic, as usual. But it's fine. I don't mind the distractions right now," replied Elphaba with a sigh.

"I'm glad it's keeping you busy, maybe that's what you need right now," encouraged Nessa. Elphaba could practically see her sister smiling through the phone.

"I think so too," said the dark haired woman. She glanced up at the clock and nearly jumped when she realized it was almost 1 o'clock.

"Nessa I have to go, can I call you later?" she asked hurriedly.

"Sure," said Nessa, "Bye Fabala!"

Elphaba couldn't help but smile as she hung up.

Once the phone calls on the day were done Elphaba sat on her bed and reflected on exactly what had happened last night.

She couldn't believe she had been so foolish to think Fiyero had feelings for her. Fiyero would have feelings for anything right now if it got him distracted enough from Glinda's death. She reprimanded herself for being so gullible and stupid.

This was a mistake, such a mistake. She snatched her phone from its place on the bed next to her and prepared to dial Fiyero's number.

She stopped herself right before she pressed the last four digits. Her eyes remained locked on her phone.

She couldn't do this, not to Fiyero, not now. He had gone through so much and he didn't need anyone leaving him in an untimely absence.

Sighing heavily Elphaba canceled the call and put down her phone. Her head lay in her hands for a while.

What had she gotten herself into?

**Sorry for the wait! Got super busy.**

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	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six:

At five o'clock that evening Fiyero arrived promptly at her door bearing a bouquet of freshly picked roses that were stained a brilliant crimson. Elphaba was a bit shocked by the gesture when she opened up her door until Fiyero spoke his reasoning for them.

"For your help and willingness to stand with me," Fiyero explained, ever the gentleman, as he handed them to her.

She lifted the flowers to her nose and breathed in deeply, she always had loved the smell of roses.

"Thank you," she said with a wane smile as she quickly hurried the flowers into a vase with water.

Grabbing her purse and straightening out her slim but form-fitting black dress and hair, she assessed herself as suitable to go out on this date. Fiyero differed from Elphaba in the style of his attire for the evening. He was much more relaxed in his jeans and buttoned-up tan shirt while Elphaba was more reserved and elegant in her dress.

Her heels gave her a few more inches on him but Fiyero was still taller than Elphaba, much to her dismay. She was rather fond of using her height against people in certain situations, mostly to intimidate customers and investors of the bank.

"So what exactly do we have planned for this evening?" asked Elphaba as she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear nervously, not attempting to look at Fiyero in the eyes as they walked down the hallway to the elevator.

Immediately she was regretting her decision of dress, this dress was way too pretty to give off the impression that this was a friend type date. She cursed herself for not going with her simple jeans and blouse that she had originally picked out.

It seemed as if the 'Galindafication' process she had gone through in college had been instilled in her brain so much that now she couldn't revert back to the homebody type girl she had been. Damn Glinda and her fashion sense for turning her into some sort of classy woman who wanted to look nice.

"Well I do have something in mind, but…" he looked her over and she resisted the urge to sneer at him and/or slug him. Elphaba loathed people giving her the once over look.

"What?" her voice suddenly turned irritated.

"I don't think you're really dressed for it," he tried to stifle his laughter with his hand as the elevator rang and the doors open.

Oh God, where in the world was he taking her?

Fiyero took a step to get on the elevator but Elphaba snapped out a hand and pulled him back.

"Fiyero I swear to God if this place is some sort of stupid bar or club I will personally hunt you down and kill you," she hissed.

"I promise," Fiyero held up both hands in surrender, "I think you're gonna like it… but you probably should change…"

With a load sigh and moan escaping her lips Elphaba angrily stormed back to her room, leaving Fiyero in a fit of laughter by the elevator.

* * *

"Is this better?" she sought for his approval on the new attire she had put on as she met him up at the car in the front of the hotel. She gave him a little pageant twirl as she walked up to the side of the car, showing off her jeans and purple blouse topped off with a high ponytail and heels.

"Much more suitable," said Fiyero with a shake of his head, the corners of his mouth twitching.

She stopped still, one hand on the car door and just looked at him. She could see how much Glinda's death was wearing on him. He looked even older than he had yesterday. Even still, Elphaba couldn't help but be her critical self.

"You just think life is a big joke, don't you Tiggular?" she remarked as she saw that he couldn't hold in his laughter. She gave him a tiny smile. She knew exactly why he was laughing, it was a common stage of grief but she found that she couldn't be as sympathetic as she had been in the past, not since she was trying not to send him the wrong message. She didn't want to appear to get too close, too caring or he might seize the opportunity.

"I believe that you have to laugh with the punches, Miss Thropp otherwise how in the world are you supposed to see the good in this world?"

Her mouth puckered and yet she nodded at him in approval. He wasn't as dumb as he looked, that had been the biggest understatement that Elphaba had had about him when they were younger.

Each of them slid into a seat in the car, Fiyero on the driver's side while Elphaba on the passenger-side.

"So are you going to tell me where we're going or do I have to guess?" she asked as she leaned her elbow against the window, her chin against her hand.

"Guess, it will be fun for me," said Fiyero as he started the car and they began their drive to wherever they were headed.

Elphaba just rolled her eyes… she hated guessing games…

...

"Are we going to Apple Incorporations?"

"You think I have connections to Apple?" Fiyero laughed heartily at this guess, "You think way too highly of me, Elphaba."

"Alcatraz then? What better place to take me than an old abandoned prison? She laughed at this one.

"No, not Alcatraz, you don't want to go there at night," Fiyero sounded as if he was going to go on a tangent about that but he didn't and Elphaba was left to fill in the empty silence.

"I'm running out of places," she admitted sheepishly. She counted back at her guesses: San Francisco, The Golden Gate Bridge, a beach, Pixar, a zoo, a restaurant. All of them had been no's.

"Oh come on! It's easy," Fiyero chided her as he pulled out onto a highway and began to accelerate to the appropriate speed posted.

"Fiyero, I have no idea what is in California to go to!" she complained, "Now if you came to New York I could give you a list of places to go to in a second flat…"

His smile twitched and he just shook his head at her. She bit her lip and gave him her best 'I've got nothing left' look.

"I can believe you haven't said it yet. Are you even paying attention to where we're going?" he was giving her a clue.

Elphaba sat up in her seat, suddenly alert now that he had said that. She squinted her eyes at the various signs hung above their heads as they whirled past them. She hadn't even been paying attention earlier; she had been too absorbed at trying to get him at his own game.

Anaheim next right, one of them said. Her breath hitched. Elphaba knew what was in Anaheim, everyone did.

Her lips tightened into a thin line.

"You're taking me to Disneyland aren't you?" she said quietly. She didn't need to look at him to know that she was right.

The air in the car grew still and silent.

"I know you've never been and I thought it would be fun," Fiyero said softly.

She scoffed and crossed her arms across her chest, "I'm not a child anymore, Fiyero. I don't think I need a trip to Disneyland."

She had her reasons for not wanting to go to Disneyland, but she wasn't ready to share them yet. Glancing at him, she couldn't tell if Fiyero knew the reasons why or not. She had assumed that Glinda had told Fiyero all of her secrets between her former roommate and herself but maybe Glinda had been a better secret keeper than Elphaba had thought her as.

He gave her a bitter smile, "Glinda always told me how you've never been to Disneyland and how she thought that it would be fun if maybe the next time you came out we could all go together. I know she would have wanted you to go. She loved that place," Fiyero said gently.

Elphaba was biting her lip so hard she thought she was going to puncture it, "Yes, well Glinda was always a child at heart so of course she loved it," she said hastily. She was hiding her true feelings behind her grief for Glinda; which was a bad combination for her to make.

The silence in between their exchanges of dialogue was suffocating for both of them.

"I think it would be good, for both of us…"

Slowly Elphaba turned her head to look at him. He had a single tear running down his cheek but he hadn't bothered to wipe it. The water that was blooming in her own eyes stayed where it was but she couldn't help the lump that was forming in her throat.

"Fiyero…" she got out. No other words would pass her lips they just stayed there building up in her mouth until they congealed into one loud sob. She whipped herself towards the window, hating the fact that she was getting so upset over something as stupid as going to Disneyland but she could see from the little glances she gave Fiyero every now and again that he was just as upset as she was, but for different reasons.

Fiyero sniffled and finally wiped away the tear, gathering up his composure, "Come on, it'll be fun."

He didn't sound so convinced but Elphaba didn't say anything otherwise.

They drove on for a while longer, now in utter silence. Elphaba kept her gaze out the window, her eyes flickering every so often back to Fiyero and then hastily back to the window. She knew she never should have agreed to this date. This was a huge mistake. Fiyero and herself were a mess, heartbreakingly still grieving their friend's death among other things. They were in no fit to go to the happiest place on earth.

This date would end with someone in tears; Elphaba was calling it right now.

Even still, she couldn't be completely opposed to the idea. Fiyero looked so determined that this trip was going to fix everything, heal him in some way and Elphaba hoped for his sake that it would.

They needed to let go of the pain and hurt that this death was causing them. They needed to immerse themselves in something else for a while, a distraction.

In that way, Elphaba hoped this trip would a success for both of them.

While glancing at Fiyero Elphaba wished that she wouldn't mess this kind thing Fiyero was doing for her. She had a knack for ruining everything she was in or was affiliated with.

As soon as they drove up to the gates and Elphaba saw the sign DISNEYLAND, she held her breath and she thought she saw Fiyero do so too.

Though her heart was not convinced that this was a good idea, Elphaba put on a smile and went in with the attitude that maybe just maybe the illusion and happiness of Disney would work its magic on Fiyero and herself for just this one time…

**Yay they're going to Disneyland! Should be some fun in store for them there in the next chapter! Hope you all have a very Happy New Years if you haven't already!**

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